Blood Breath Revenge
by fangirlingmatilda
Summary: Post Mockingjay. After Katniss returns to District 12 after the war, she settles back into her home with Peeta and two children. Just as the kids realise what Katniss goes through, a horrible secret changes the lives of their family. Snow might be dead but his plan is still ongoing and Katniss and her family are forced to go into hiding or die. Please follow, favourite and review!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Katniss screamed. "PRIM!"

She'd had another nightmare, one about Prim. Again.

"Psst." She whispered "Peeta!"

How could he have slept through her screaming? He'd obviously been tired, hadn't had that much sleep. Katniss shook Peeta.

"What?" Peeta groaned. He switched on the light.

He looked tired, his eyes were blood shot and his face was as pale as the moon.

"I'm going to take a walk, I've had another nightmare, so there is no chance of me getting back to sleep tonight. I just wanted to let you know"

"OK. Be careful not to wake the kids up." Peeta looked into Katniss's eyes, they were a beautiful colour. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I can't get to sleep, I'm fine. I'm way too hot here anyway, fresh air will do me good." Katniss reassured Peeta and jumped out of bed. She reached for her jacket which was lying on the chair. It hadn't been used in ages, the weather was way too warm at the moment. There were a pair of brown boots by the door, they'd be perfect for a walk in the woods. Katniss pulled them on quickly. She tripped over the plush rug that was lying on the floor.

"OUCH!" She yelped in the quietest way possible.

"SHH!" Peeta laughed.

"Sorry!" Katniss giggled. "We really need to move that somewhere were nobody can trip over it!"

She pulled the handle and the door swung open.

"Goodbye, Peeta!"

"Be safe, my girl on fire!" Peeta whispered as he blew Katniss a kiss.

She sent one right back. They loved each other, they really did. Katniss waited in the doorway and smiled until Peeta turned out the light. She shut the door.

_Clank._

Katniss strolled down the corridor, she needed to get out. The light was on in Willow's room and Katniss could here whispering. She walked in.

_Creek!_

The door was old, you could here the creek from a mile away.

"Willow?" Katniss's eyes couldn't adjust to the light. "Why is your light on?"

"Mommy!" It was Rye.

Katniss could see them both huddled up on Willow's bed. They looked scared, Rye was crying and Willow was biting her lip. Willow never looked scared, she had always been strong and brave – Peeta even called her his little warrior – but now she really did look as if she could cry a river.

"What's wrong guys?" Katniss was confused, why were they so scared?

Rye started howling and his eyes started to produce floods of tears. Willow hugged him until he stopped.

"We heard you crying." Willow couldn't hold in how scared she was. "It was shouting really."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you OK?" The kids didn't know yet, about the nightmares. Katniss and Peeta would have to tell them at some point.

"Yeah. We're just a bit shocked. We heard you shout someone's name, I couldn't figure out who it was though." Oh god.

"It was nothing, don't worry. I'm fine. Come here Rye!" Rye looked so sad. Had it been this bad? Katniss did have to admit that it was one of her worst nightmares.

Rye ran up to his mother, his chubby little toddler's legs running as fast as they could to reach Katniss.

"I was scared, mommy!" Rye had the cutest voice ever, it was so sweet and there was a slight lisp to go with it. He was adorable.

"I know, it isn't anything to worry about though. Come on Rye! Lets get you back to bed!" Katniss really needed to get out.

Rye didn't want to go anywhere.

"But I won't be able to sleep mommy!"

Peeta had obviously heard them talking because he was now standing in the doorway. Katniss got a fright when she saw him standing there.

"Oh!" She jumped.

"Hi, lovely! Let me take care of them you go." Peeta was so generous like this.

"Come on kids, lets let your mom go."

"Where is she going?" Willow asked curiously.

"I've got to attend to some very important business, Willow. Let your dad sort you out and put you to bed, I'll be back in no time!" Katniss said as cheerfully as she could.

Willow jumped out of bed and gave her mom a kiss. Katniss then picked up Rye and gave him a kiss on the head before giving him a big hug.

"Bye, see you all later!" Katniss said finally as she skipped out the door into th dark corridor.

_Clank._

She closed the door and rushed down the corridor.

Katniss ran down the stairs as fast as her legs could take her. She even fell for part of her journey down the steps. Once she let her leg bound of the last stair, she ran round the corner into the kitchen were her game bag lay conveniently ready for her to pick up. Damn. Where was her bow and arrows? Did she leave them in the woods, in her special hiding place. Or where they at home, in the safety and warmth of every room? Katniss flicked the light switch then took a quick look around the room. They certainly weren't in the kitchen. Were they in the living room? She had no time to check in there, she had to hope that they were in the woods. And with that, she twisted the front door handle and let the fresh air push her back. Katniss stepped out into the breezy outside. This place brought back memories – not all good ones though. The Victor's Village was not a place of happy memories. She needed to get out. So she ran – extremely fast – until she was in the square.

She was finally out of that place.


	2. Chapter 2

Blood breath revenge

**Chapter 2**

Katniss flicked the torch on, the place looked grim. Ashes still lay in the gutter, reminding everyone of the past – the past everyone tried to forget, though no one ever did- , when the wind got strong, some ashes would even get stuck in people's throats, that was the worst thing. She shivered, partly because of the temperature of the air and partly because the square was nothing but a grim memory now. The only thing to be heard was the gentle lullaby made by the wind as it swirled dreamily around the buildings. The Justice Building was nothing but a lump of rubble now. Good. The Justice Building was where it all started. A shudder ran down the back of Katniss's spine, the buildings had too many memories stored in their cracks. A small pebble lay in front of her. She kicked it repeatedly against a stone wall, she was angry. Tears started pouring down her cheeks.

"You shouldn't be kicking that, you know." Katniss flipped her head around. "No matter how angry you are, there is no need to take it out on the poor wall."

The voice came from an old man, though Katniss couldn't quite see who as she had dropped her torch in shock when she heard the voice. She felt around for her torch with one hand as she hugged the wall with the other. She found it in no time. As she shone the light on the man, her legs started to shake. When the yellow light finally reached his face, Katniss was surprised to find an unfamiliar face smile at her brightly. He took a step towards her. Katniss stumbled back, trying to get away and fell.

"Oh dear, let me help you up." The man let out his hand.

Katniss took it, cautiously. Once she was up, the man get his hand gripped tight on hers. Katniss tried to pull away.

"I'm Juniper." He shook her hand vigorously.

"Katniss." She finally managed to pull away.

"Well I never, warn me if I'm wrong, but you're Katniss Everdeen!"

"Yes, that's right." Katniss had always been told to be polite.

"Isn't it a bit late for a young girl like you to be wandering the streets?!"

Katniss stayed silent.

"Suit yourself, I suspect I'll see you around."

Juniper turned to his right and entered a small house. Katniss ran quickly, that man had cost her a lot of precious time.

By the time she got to the Seam, Katniss had no breath left in her body . She had been running flat out for almost ten minutes. She decided to take a break on the steps of what used to be her home. All that remained was a vague looking hut which was being held up by a few nails. Life was rough in the Seam, but it had always felt like her home, even when she lived in the Victor's Village. Katniss looked up at the sky, the stars looked absolutely beautiful. Their hypnotizing light, made Katniss almost forget about her dreadful past for a second, she was addicted to their piercing light.

_Snap! _

Katniss turned her head quickly to see what it was. It was the hut, it was breaking rapidly, if she didn't move soon, she might've ended up dead. She quickly leapt up onto her feet and stood, shaking in her boots, as the home which she had grown up in slowly fell to the ground. Her childhood memories – both the good and the bad ones – disappeared along with her childhood house – what a night! Tears started to run down her face, making her eyes sting, she started to run. Run away from everything bad, as far as she could.

As she reached the meadow, her crying stopped, after all, this was her place. The flowers shone beautifully in the artificial light, which put a smile on Katniss's face. The first smile she'd produced in a long time. That made her smile again. She flopped onto the wet grass and looked up at the sky for the second time today. She needed music. To help her relax. She had to sing.

_Deep in the meadow, _

_Under the willow._

_A bed of grass, _

_A soft green pillow._

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes, _

_And when again they open, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, _

_Here it's warm,_

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm._

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true, _

_Here is the place where I love you._

Tears started to flow again, there were to many memories hidden in that song. Prim on the day of her first – and only – reaping, Rue in the meadow, back in District 13, the house in the Seam. Willow and Rye. They sang that song without knowing the true meaning of it. Without knowing how hard it was for Katniss to keep her tears down whenever they sang it to her. It was a song full of mixed memories, some bad and some good. This meadow was full of memories, too many. Katniss wanted to get away from her bad memories, which hadn't happened yet. Instead of forgetting them all, she'd simply discovered more in the process. She pulled at the grass that lay either side of her stiff body until tufts of it were flying all over the place. She needed to recover. The only place where she could truly do that was in the woods. There was only two memories which lay deep in the woods. Two which she had learnt to fight of a long time ago, the days when she went hunting with her father and Gale. Everything about Gale flooded into her brain when she entered the woods without him now. So she got up and jogged slowly to the hole in the fence. The fence had stayed up throughout the whole of the bombings – it was fair to say that it was a sturdy fence. When she reached the fence, a sense of delight filled her stomach, she hadn't been hunting in ages.

That feeling soon changed as she entered the woods. She had been warned not to go hunting in the dark, though she always had, but tonight, the woods' atmosphere was different, like she wasn't the only one in there. Nonetheless, she was still determined to do it. So she ran to the tree where she always kept her bow and arrow. Her weapon was still there. She let out a sigh of relief and ran deep into the woods to hunt.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The crisp wind dried out the inside of Katniss's throat when she took a breath, she had to swirl her saliva around in her mouth to quench her thirst after a while. She took deep breaths to stop her sobs or weeps from escaping her mouth, if anyone was in the woods as well, she couldn't have them hear her cry – she had always been strong in public, and she had to keep that up. She was falling apart on the inside – she felt as if she was just a pile of screams and cries, waiting to be released – her stomach was turning in large circles, making her have to stop every now and then to regain her balance and straighten her self up. Katniss wanted to curl up into a ball and sing her self to sleep, as Prim leant her head on Katniss's bony back and her mother wrapped her arms around her daughters. That was how life used to be – before the games and before the day that her father went to work and never came back from the dark dusty mine –, it was a peaceful life. Their father would hunt for food and their mother was happy. She wanted to go back in time and pause it forever on one of those days.

Katniss brushed her hand over what seemed to be a fallen down tree – she couldn't quite see in the dim moonlight – and smiled. She loved the feeling of the random hard patterns that intertwined with each other, their obscure details holding small stories. She liked to spend her time thinking about new stories that could be lying underneath each carving. Her corners of her mouth crept up her face, revealing her white teeth and the beautiful shape of her lips. Katniss loved the feeling of being happy, it was a rare vibe for Katniss to feel, she always wanted to explore it more whenever it crept into her heart. She didn't have a care in the world, apart from one thing. That one thing was a question: Why was Katniss feeling so happy? Was it because of the new patterns she'd discovered on the trunk of the tree?

Was it because she smiled? Was it because she was in the woods, hunting, where she hadn't been for a long time? There was no time for Katniss to think about it, she was meant to be hunting. She hadn't even got one animal yet, she couldn't disappoint Peeta by not brining home any meat for him. He loved to make pies full of squirrels and other animals in the woods, with a beautiful, golden, crisp pastry and a thick sauce. Every Sunday, Peeta would make a large feast made with the game that Katniss had collected earlier in the day. It was Sunday – at least that's what Katniss thought, it was surely past midnight – so it was important that Katniss collected some good meat for her husband.

She started to walk again after she'd paused to think for so long, she'd probably wasted 5 minutes just standing there, thinking about her life, she thought. Her heart pumped quickly as the adrenaline rushed through her, the night-time was her favorite time to go hunting. She flicked on her torch and swiped her head around, to check her surroundings. Katniss rubbed her eyes and held her palms tightly over her eyes for a few seconds, so they could adjust to the light. When she took them off, she looked around. She was only around 200 meters from the lake – she thought, as she could see the end of the path at around 200 meters away – which meant that she would be finished hunting in no-time. Katniss pulled her bow off her back and selected an arrow from her pouch. Carefully, she placed the arrow in the bow and held her weapon up in a comfortable shooting position. She carried on down to the lake, her heart pounding and her head throbbing – she was de-hydrated and needed to get some water to drink, she'd forgotten to grab some before leaving the house – as she dodged the big branches that attacked her now and again. As Katniss neared the lake, she started to run – she didn't care about the noise, she was too thirsty – the rhythm of her feet echoed on the cold night. Her breath created pretty patterns in the air, it was a cold night. She sprinted to the lake when she was only a few meters away, she was so thirsty.

Katniss tripped over a rock and fell into the ice-cold water of the lake. Her body shivered, it was cold enough as it was, she didn't need her body to get any colder. Katniss lifted her head out of the water and rested it on a rock, she lifted her arms into a comfortable position and lay her head on top of them. She sobbed, how was she meant to get back in time before the sun rise and everybody would notice that she was hunting? She let the salty drops run down her cheeks, Katniss couldn't hold in her tears, what did it matter now anyway? Her face was already covered in water, she wouldn't notice it.

_Snap!_

Katniss flicked her head round sharply to see what – or who – was there – though she didn't turn on her torch, she didn't want to give herself up – , to her surprise, a deer was standing as still as a statue in her way. Katniss sighed a sigh of relief, she had found her meat. She picked up her bow cautiously, without turning her eyes away from the deer, and placed an arrow in it's middle. Carefully, she lifted the weapon up and aimed it at the deer. Katniss slowly pulled the string back if she shot well, she'd get the first deer she'd seen in ages. She only had on chance to shoot the arrow, if the arrow didn't hit the animal, it'd escape and she still wouldn't have any meat for Peeta and the family. Katniss counted down from five before she let go of the arrow. She whispered.

_Five._

Katniss took a good look at the animal.

_Four._

She positioned herself.

_Three._

Katniss took aim.

_Two._

She pulled the arrow back.

_One._

A medium sized metal container landed on the stone next Katniss.

_Zero._

The deer ran off.


End file.
